Movie Review: Burlesque

 My friend KJ and I spent part of our Thanksgiving Day in the cineplex. We wanted a fun, light movie and most of the holiday releases didn’t fit the bill. Faster is an action-packed, angry revenge pic, and we wanted laughter not a pissed off Rock. Thanks to reading a spoiler-laden review of Love and Other Drugs, I got the feeling that it might be a bit of a downer. And who wants to feel down before stuffing themselves with stuffing, turkey and all of the rest of the fixings? Tangled was light and fun, but we weren’t in the mood to be surrounded by the kiddies on Thanksgiving. Since KJ and I both liked musicals, we settled on Burlesque. We got what we were looking for a fun light movie. We enjoyed ourselves.

Now, Burlesque isn’t Chicago. It won’t be winning a bunch of Academy Awards … which is probably why the critics, for the most part, have hated it. However, I’m not judging the movie on some lofty set of standards that it wasn’t aiming for in the first place, which is probably why I enjoyed it so much. I went to see some great singing and dancing an awesome set design and costumes, and I got exactly what I was looking for.

The plot was straightforward enough. Small town Iowa girl Ali (Christina Aguilera) heads for the bright lights of Los Angeles. She stumbles on the Burlesque club, with its fabulous owner Tess (Cher) and has to be a part of it. She starts off as a waitress and moves up to show girl, where she clashes with headlining diva, Nikki. Of course, once Tess and company hear The Voice, Ali becomes the new HDIC (Head Diva in Charge).

Clichés abound. There is the obligatory love triangle. Ali must choose between the wealthy Marcus (Eric Dane) and bartender/songwriter/roommate Jack (Cam Gigandet). Then, there is the club-in-jeopardy angle. Marcus wants to buy the club from the cash-strapped Tess who is facing a huge balloon payment on the club that she can’t possibly pay.

Aguilera will never be accused of being a great actress (and the wig she wore for most of the movie was bad to the point of distraction), but she is passable here. What she lacks in acting chops, she more than makes up for on the stage. The musical numbers are what everyone seeing Burlesque is coming to see and they were awesome. Great costumes. Catchy tunes. Christina Aguilera and Cher on vocals. It was a good time.

Get Your Turkey Fix ... Then See a Flick!

If you are like me, you like a little movie along with your turkey and stuffing. While the boys settle down for an evening of football, me and the girlfriends often choose to spend our turkey-induced tryptophan haze in a darkened theatre. This year, five movies are being released for the long-weekend and there is a little something for everyone.

Burlesque
If you think that the one thing missing from a big boisterous musical is the genius of … Cher, then your prayers have been answered. Or, maybe, you’ve been waiting patiently for Christina Aguilera and her big dramatic voice to make a big screen debut, your guardian angel has a surprise! Burlesque, a small town girl (Aguilera) comes to Los Angeles and dreams of making it big in a burlesque club. Since we’re all hankering for flashy costumes, audacious set designs and over-the-top singing, this is what me and my girls will be seeing Thursday night.




Love and Other Drugs
If you are yearning for a side of romance to go with your yams, then may I suggest Love and Other Drugs. Jake Gyllenhaal plays a pharmaceutical rep and unrepentant playboy who unexpectantly meets his match in the bubbly Anne Hathaway.





Tangled
If you’re hitting the Cineplex with the kiddie table set, Tangled might be more to your liking. It’s a retelling of Rapuntzel’s tale, the girl with all that hair and of course, her prince charming.



Faster
If you wait until the football games are over, your guy will probably go for the testosterone fest that is Faster. The Rock, fast cars, lots of ass-kicking, need I say more?




The Nutcracker
The classic ballet is being brought to life in 3-D no less. Starring Elle Fanning, John Turturro and Nathan Lane, rest assured, it won’t be just dancing.

Really. It's True. I'm Not Joking.

In maybe the least presidential move EVER, Bill Clinton is appearing in The Hangover 2. Yes, the former President of the United States and Leader of the Free World stepped in for a disgraced Mel Gibson.

While his wife is meeting with heads of state as the Secretary of State, Bill will be appearing along side the pot-smoking Zach Galifianakis in a sequel to a movie that featured blow-job giving senior citizens, Mike Tyson, hookers, tigers and drunken tooth extrations.

Unstoppable? Not Quite.

Unstoppable failed to live up to its name. The Denzel Washington film about a runaway train was stopped in its tracks from taking the number one spot at the box office this weekend. Standing in it's way? Will Ferrell's animated Megamind.which retained the number one spot for the second week in a row and made off with $30 million. Unstoppable came in second with $23 million. However, the film is said to have cost over $100 million to make so it might have to wait until DVD sales to recoup the investment.

The real story is how Harrison Ford's workplace comedy Morning Glory barely managed to make the top five with under $10 million (9.6 to be exact) in ticket sales. Could this mean that Ford is possibly past his prime? Maybe it means that people don't like him as much in comedies. Although they didn't like him in drama either if Extraordinary Measures, released earlier this year is any indication. Maybe he should stick to action as the last Indiana Jones flick did reasonably well (amidst horrible reviews).

23 Years Young!

D'oh! The Simpsons will be back next year for Season 23! At the end of that season, they will have approximately 515 episodes. The Simpsons are the longest running comedy in television history. Law & Order would have beat out Gunsmoke, the longest running drama, if NBC had renewed it for one more season (I'm still mad about that).

But one show beats them all isn't a comedy or a drama ... it's news. Meet the Press has been aired consistently for 62 years with over 4850 episodes. Just one year behind it is the CBS Evening News. Holding the records for both the longest running drama and the longest running daytime drama is Guiding Light at 57 years.

Raising Hope: Check It Out

I’ve been underwhelmed and unimpressed with this year’s Fall TV choices. The shows I really enjoyed like Lone Star and Undercovers didn’t last. The shows I had high hopes for The Event and Running Wilde failed to connect with me. Yet, there is one new show that has delivered: Raising Hope.

This show was barely on my register. The premise: teen dad raising a baby with his quirky middle class family didn’t create pique my interest. In fact, more than anything else, I watched it because it came on after Glee and before Running Wilde, which, as a huge Arrested Development fan, I was eagerly anticipating (what a huge letdown!).

Raising Hope is consistently funny. Newcomer Lucas Neff is Jimmy Chance whose one-night stand with a serial killer leaves him a single dad to infant Hope after the baby’s mother is executed. This was the pilot and while serial killers and execution don’t seem like a comedic gold mine, trust me, it was funny.

While the show might revolve around Neff, it’s the supporting cast that makes Raising Hope such fun to watch. I’ve seen Martha Plimpton for years, mainly as a guest star on dramatic series like Law & Order, Medium, and The Good Wife. Never in a million years did I see her as a comedic actress; but her timing and reactions as Jimmy’s mother Virginia are dead-on. She gets to play of Garret Dillahunt, as Jimmy's dad, another actor mainly known through dramatic guest roles on Criminal Minds, CSI and Damages with a surprising flair for comedy.

Bringing the entire cast together is comedy legend Cloris Leachman as great-grandma Maw Maw. She’s senile with scattered moments of lucidity and she steals every scene she’s in. Whether she’s thinking she’s in labor or running after some teens that tried to steal her candy on Halloween (while wearing a cat costume), she’s hysterical.

Leachman, Plimpton, Dillahunt and Neff are able to make it work because the writers have given them some great material to work with.

If you haven’t seen it yet, watch it tonight and turn the channel before Running Wilde.

Cat Fights and Train Wrecks! At Least A Girl Can Hope!

Over a year after Michael Jackson’s death, the King of Pop can still cause controversy. His first posthumous album, Michael, is set to be released and over the weekend the first single was released (or was it leaked?). Devoted fans aren’t sure it’s Michael on the vocals.

But DivaSoulSista isn’t about music; we’re about movies and television. So all this talk about MJ got me thinking about LJ. Yes, that’s LaToya Jackson if you’re nasty! She’s going to be on one of my guiltiest of guilty pleasures, Celebrity Apprentice. She’ll be joining celebrity attorney and talk show host, Star Jones, former soap star Lisa Rinna, singer Dionne Warwick (where’d they find her), former super model Niki Taylor, Oscar-winning actress Marlee Matlin and … wait for it … NeNe from the Real Housewives of Atlanta.

Maybe LaToya will surprise us with her astute business acumen and sales savvy. Sure, that would be great. But, am I wrong for hoping that she ends up being a train wreck of Cindy Lauper proportions? Now, that would make some good guilty television watching! You know the teams start off with the men versus the women, so she, Star and NeNe will be on the same team. Can you say catfight????

In case you’re wondering, the men’s team includes rapper Lil’ John, singer Meatloaf, singer and talk show host Mark McGrath, Survivor’s first winner, Richard Hatch, baseball player, Jose Conseco, 70’s teen heartthrob David Cassidy and actor Gary Busey.

With a cast like this, I’m expecting the worst … which means this season could be one of the best!